The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners at their recent meeting moved onto the next step in bringing the American marten back to Pennsylvania, directing the commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management to develop a plan for reintroduction and management of the species.

The larger relative of the weasel and mink was extirpated from Pennsylvania in the early 1900s by deforestation and unregulated harvest.

While the tree-climbing predator of about 24-30 inches in length, including the tail, preys heavily on members of the squirrel family, like chipmunks and red squirrels, it also eats a wide range of insects, fruits and berries in season.

The marten is not expected to have an undue impact of any other species in the state, according to a reintroduction assessment conducted by the Bureau of Wildlife Management.

In summarizing that assessment, Thomas Keller, chief of the commission’s Furbearer Program, wrote, “Three major concerns were identified from previous reintroduction efforts, literature review and expert communication. These include negative impacts to species of concern, future climatic impacts to marten persistence, and interspecific competition impacts on marten.

“Based on historic diet analysis, prey abundance estimates, habitat modeling, and assessment of Pennsylvania specific biotic and abiotic factors known to affect differing aspects of marten ecology, it is reasonable to believe that impact on other species and on marten are minimal and through adaptive management, future climatic challenges can be addressed.

“This isn’t to say that there is no risk to such a decision or that there are not still many questions unanswered within the available literature. Proper risk management understands that there are many uncertainties, but biologic, social, economic and cultural benefits are many for this project, and ostensibly outweigh perceived risks.

“American marten reintroduction to Pennsylvania is likely to succeed and should be considered as the next step in a long history of restorative conservation efforts within the Commonwealth.

“The Bureau of Wildlife Management, therefore, recommends that American marten be reintroduced to the state of Pennsylvania through deliberate planning and dedicated partnership.”

As part of the assessment, the Center for Survey Research at Penn State surveyed more than a thousand Pennsylvania residents, finding that 66 percent had not heard of the American marten. But 92.4 percent supported the reintroduction of the species.

The next step for the species that once was found commonly in the northern two-thirds of Pennsylvania will be the development of an American Marten Reintroduction and Management Plan.

In that plan, the Bureau of Wildlife Management will identify optimal release sites, potential source populations, as well as provide specifics on translocation methodology, research and monitoring, cooperative partnerships, and long-term management.